Civil Air Patrol members work year-round to keep region safe

Plymouth’s Civil Air Patrol squadron has won numerous awards and been color guard at Fenway Park. But they’re still flying below the radar.

Lane Lambert

When the radio alert sounded in the Pilgrim Civil Air Patrol’s headquarters this summer, Joshua Burchman and several other young members sprang into action.

The cause: A small plane’s emergency locator had gone off, portending to a possible “hard landing” at or near the Plymouth airport.

With wings every state, the CAP has more than 61,000 adult and youth members. assachusetts has 17 squadrons, including ones based in Plymouth, Brockton and Mansfield.

Organized: Dec. 1, 1941

Military branch: U.S. Air Force, auxiliary

Headquarters: Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala.

Wings: In 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico

Squadrons nationally: 1,700

Squadrons in Mass.: 17

Members nationally: 61,000

Total aircraft: 4,350

Mission: Search and rescue, disaster relief

SIGNING UP

Cadets

Must be 12-18 to join, but remain members until thry turn 21

Military service is not required

10 percent of U.S. Air Force Academy students enrolled as members of the Civil Air Patrol

Adults

Must be 18 or older

Non-citizens must have permanent legal residence

Source: Civil Air Patrol

As it turned out, the locator had been set off accidentally, but the drill was real for Burchman and his fellow cadets.

The Pilgrim squadron has been making runs like that for 30 years. Its dedication has earned the volunteer group five awards from the air patrol’s Massachusetts wing since 2001, as well as a state honor for a 2003 crash rescue in the Berkshires and a color-guard presentation at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in September.

The unit is familiar to local authorities, such as Plymouth’s emergency management office. To the general public, however, the squadron largely flies under the radar.

“If you don’t know someone who’s in it, chances are you don’t know about us,” said Laurel Weinstock of Plymouth, one of the unit’s adult members.

Maj. Robert Yaeger, the squadron’s commander, said the national auxiliary’s profile isn’t much better.

“We’re the best kept secret in the nation,” he said.

Established on Dec. 1, 1941 – six days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor – the Civil Air Patrol became famous for its World War II coastal reconnaissance flights, spotting 173 German U-boats and sinking two. By war’s end, 64 air patrol pilots had died in the line of duty.

Since then, the civilian auxiliary has focused on inland search and rescue, drug-trafficking patrols, and aeronautics and flight training.

The latter program is a big draw for teenagers who dream of a career as an engineer or airline pilot like Burchman, who’s 17 and attends New England Baptist Academy in East Bridgewater.

Kingston’s Lauren Hunt, 14, hopes the air patrol will be her first step to the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Plymouth’s group includes 37 cadets and 19 adults – from Yaeger, a retired computer-systems editor, to Daniel Guy of Plymouth, who is 13 and has been a cadet for only three months.

They signed up for all sorts of reasons, often personal ones. Weinstock, who’s 43, followed her son into the program.

Plymouth North High School sophomore Stephen Lentini wanted to sign up when he was 12. His parents finally relented a couple of years ago when he met Weinstock’s son. (Lentini’s 12-year-old brother, Tom, is now a member, too.)

Whatever their age, the program is a significant part of their lives, from Tuesday night meetings and training sessions to charity picnics and Red Cross disaster training. If a plane goes down or a hurricane strikes, the Civil Air Patrol will be among the first to be called.

“It takes a lot of discipline,” Lentini said, though no one seems to object. The training has helped many members go on to aviation schools and national flight training.

The Pilgrim squadron’s 30th anniversary this year featured the return of one of the squadron’s most highly honored members, Tom Melucci of Middleboro.

In 2003, he was the first on the scene to rescue two young boys who survived the crash of their family’s plane in the Berkshires. He and others were given a state award for bravery by then-Gov. Mitt Romney.

Now 23, married, a father and the owner of a plumbing business, Melucci plans on rejoining as soon as his life settles down a bit. He especially wants to work with rescue and emergency services.

Civil Air Patrol gets into your blood, he says – and when he gathers with Lentini and other teenagers, “I see myself when I was their age.”